The Endless War
by WoodlandBeef
Summary: When will the Tiberium Wars ever cease? GDI and Nod, eternal enemies, yet neither seems to gain any ground upon their foe. The war will never end until one side concedes. View the C&C KR universe through the eyes of many a soldier.
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

It has been five months since the destruction of GDIs most precious and tactically beneficial facility, the GSS Philadelphia. Not only was the space station destroyed, but nearly all of GDIs most important members were on it when the nuclear missile, launched by the fanatical Brotherhood of Nod, struck and completely obliterated everything in, on, and around that station. Moments after, the presumed dead leader of Nod, their 'Messiah', Kane, revealed his presence on Earth once again to wage the third Tiberium War. Immediately after his announcement, thousands upon millions of Nod troops assaulted GDIs Blue and Yellow Zone bases across the globe. Thus it has begun.

* * *

Both GDI and Nod are divided into three sub-factions:

_GDI_: The main force of alleged righteousness on Earth. GDI is comprised of many who seek to rid the Earth of the planet wide infestation of the alien crystal known as Tiberium. GDI relies heavily on superior defense and power. The pride of this faction comes from the rail-gun tech and composite armor that benefits all units under their command, from the general riflemen to their unrivaled Mammoth Tanks.

_Steel Talons_: This faction was the main force of GDI back in TibWar II when walkers were the main armor divisions of the GDI battalions. The main focus of the Steel Talons is using the advantages of their walker units especially with rail-gun and adaptive armor technology that helps defend against the walkers' weakness, being a huge target and easy to knock down via leg damage. The Steel Talons don't benefit from the multitudes of infantry at the disposal of the other factions, but they make up for it with their raw foe crushing power.

_ZOCOM_: The heavy forces of GDI consisting of veteran men and women with unparalleled experience and eagerness to fight in Tiberium infested zones. ZOCOM relies on even heavier armor than the main branch counterparts employing ceramic composite rather than just composite armor on all their units. Also they utilize the sonic wave technology that was first developed in TibWar II with the heavily armored Disruptor tanks that unfortunately were decommissioned due to the outrageous amount of possible friendly fire when active. The ZOCOM have refined the sonic technology to reduce any friendly fire while maximizing the damage the enemy receives.

* * *

_Nod_: The religious fanatical group of terrorists led by the seemingly immortal being known as Kane. For many years the Brotherhood has opposed GDI in the war over Tiberium. Nod, unlike GDI, sees Tiberium as a blessing and use it to better their own lives through its use. Nod favors pioneering technology such as lasers and active stealth camouflage and relies on guerilla and tactics.

_Black Hand_: The Black Hand is made up of members of the Brotherhood of Nod hand-picked by Kane himself. Unlike their base counterparts; the Black Hand prefers to not use the stealth technology in favor of superior flame-based weaponry for 'purification'. Amongst their ranks are some of Nod's strongest troops embodied in the towering Purifier battle mech and Black Hand infantry. These men and women of the Brotherhood are without a doubt the strongest devoted to their cause, Kane's prophecy.

_Marked of Kane_: The Marked of Kane is a massive army that Kane has kept hidden away for many years made of cybernetics and steel; the Marked of Kane is an army created for the sole purpose of serving Kane's wishes. With the cybernetic upgrades their infantry can obtain to increase their speed along with the supercharged particle beams for all their main weapons. Kane has decided to finally give his ultimate army a purpose and they shall fulfill it in its entirety.

* * *

Additionally, unknown to the forces of GDI and Nod, there is another force that speeds towards Earth due to the immense Tiberium growth. They, unlike humanity, thrive in the Tiberium rather than be harmed by it and as such have come to Earth to collect their life source.

_Scrin_: The entire force of the extraterrestrials that have landed on Earth making war with both sides, Nod and GDI, though Nod attempts to work with them rather than oppose them. The Scrin are insect-like aliens with a vicious and ruthless manner of going about their mission. The Scrin have developed energy shielding to help protect their impressive airships and units, such as their Devastator Warships, Annihilator Tripods, and Planetary Assault Carriers. These aliens are spreading across the Earth faster than Tiberium and laying waste to all that oppose them.

_Reaper-17_: The cult of Reaper-17, the darkest and most ruthless of all the Scrin, lusts for Tiberium even more than the rest of the race combined; for with Tiberium the armies of Reaper-17 grow even more powerful than they already are. This faction of the Scrin has created their own tripod that makes the Annihilator Tripod of the rest of the army look like a plaything. The Reaper Tripod is even larger than its brotherly unit, and it can absorb even more Tiberium and increase the power of its lasers even more. In the defense of the rest of the Scrin Reaper-17 is unable to manage the air forces of the Scrin armies save for the general fighter and Drone Platform. Reaper-17 will stop at nothing to obtain the green crystal they lust after so much, not even their own brethren.

_Traveller-59_: Of all the Scrin forces, Traveller-59 is a mystery. Their brethren do not even know much about this faction. All the intel that has been obtained by any of the forces encountering this faction only allows this insight: Traveller-59 has capabilities to increase speed of all its units, as well as some form of mind control technology allowing their units to control any enemy unit completely, turning them on their former comrades. Traveller-59 relies on finesse and cunning tactics much more than their counterparts in the Scrin army.

Just a little debrief of the armies, courtesy of C & C 3: Kane's Wrath


	2. I

**1: Birds of Prey**

_GDI Main Base: Washington D.C., Blue Zone_

Dust and sand flew into Lt. Timothy Meyer's visor as he walked from the vehicle hangar towards the command post. Lt. Meyer despite him being only twenty five had more than earned his rank back in the defense of D.C. when Nod attacked out of nowhere, nearly taking out the Pentagon in their attack. Meyer and his two best friends are now members of the Steel Talons battalion located in the Yellow Zone in what are the remnants of Pennsylvania and Delaware, but Meyer was called out to the GDI base as an informant between the two factions since main communications have been severed by Nod. Meyer left his Wolverine light mech in the hangar where some of the engineers were staring at the unfamiliar vehicle unit.

'You'd think they'd know what their allies' units look like' he thought as he walked, the shadow of the damaged Pentagon slowly getting closer. Upon his arrival at the doorway two Zone Troopers ushered him into the elevator, which he assumed was going to take him to the man requesting his presence, General Jack Granger. Granger was old, and Timothy let his respectful side take over, at least until he actually met the good general.

"Hurry the hell up and get over here," Meyer heard and saw a man with a gray outfit with many medals and patches and decorations beckoning to him, undeniably the General. Meyer hurried over and saluted the General.

"Save the formalities trooper, we've got trouble……BIG trouble," Granger said with urgency in his voice.

"What is the problem sir?" Meyer asked in reply.

"We've got Nod out the ass on the eastern seaboard, and we don't have the manpower to spare at the moment. So we want you and the other Talons to take care of it," Granger said all of this while bringing up a map on the large screen behind him filled with blue, green, yellow, and red blips all across the map of North America, or what used to be North America before Tiberium. Granger pointed to a cluster of red markers moving down from the northeastern coast towards a cluster of blue markers.

"Alright Lieutenant," said Granger, "This large Nod is force approaching our Blue Zone base in Trenton, New Jersey. They don't have enough manpower to deal with that force alone, so I want you're Steel Talons battalion here marked in yellow to get there as fast as possible to reinforce this base with as much firepower as you can get there in less than 3 hours. I'd have sent the ZOCOM forces here marked in green since they are much closer, but they are testing out a new special unit and we want to keep it a secret from those Nod snakes."

"Errr…but sir three hours doesn't give me a good amount of time to mobilize many units let alone a sufficient force to take on a group this large!" exclaimed Meyer. Granger just stared at him with a piercing glare, "I don't care how many there are in that Nod force, you are our only open battalion able to reach there in time! NOW MOVE IT SOLDIER!" he shouted.

Timothy just grumbled and went to the elevator. In truth he could easily make contact with his base once he got a few miles out of D.C., but the problem was that only he and his two closest friends Sgt. Zack Lyson and Cpl. Drew James had any chance of getting mobilized, arriving, and being able to provide actual help to the base, because most of the vehicles and weaponry are presently out of commission for upgrades and maintenance. The only active units were Timothy's Wolverine, Drew's Titan walker, and Zack's Behemoth artillery walker, long with a Slingshot hovercraft, one Mobile Repair Transport, and a Pitbull recon jeep; definitely nowhere near enough for a force of estimated four thousand strong. Meyer thought to himself, 'Even if the base has strong defenses and even with their units I doubt we'd be able to pull it off.'

Meyer slammed his fist into the wall next to the doorway as he walked out. The two Zone Trooper guards turned towards him, but then backed away a little seeing the expression on Meyer's face. When Meyer reached the hangar, he walked towards where his Wolverine was sitting he looked around at the numerous Predator Tanks, Pitbulls, APCs, Shatterer Tanks, and Slingshots that weren't even being used thinking why they couldn't be sent, but then again it was Granger who was in command and orders were orders.

He started to climb into his Wolverine when he heard a feminine voice yell "OW! What the HELL!" That was when Meyer realized that he was stepping on something that wasn't his cockpit chair. Two hands grasped his intruding leg and pushed it out of the cockpit, which caught Meyer off guard and he was thrown to the ground with a loud 'THUD'.

"Oh no I'm so sorry!" cried the same voice as Meyer sat up trying to reorient himself.

"Relax, I'm okay", he replied as he looked up and saw a woman technician looking at him from over the edge of the light mech's cockpit. When Meyer made eye contact with the woman, his breath was taken away and he was immobilized. She had dark auburn hair with blonde highlights, sapphire blue eyes, and her face was flawless save for a couple of smudges from probable engine work at some point in the day. She began to climb out of the cockpit as graceful as an angel, while Lt. Timothy Meyer sat like a bump on a log on the dusty concrete ground observing this woman with a feeling he never felt before. She then walked over to him and bent down to help him up. Meyer took her delicate hand, which looked so out of place in his large composite dirt covered gloves and stood up.

"I-I-I…er…sorry about stepping on you like that," he stammered while brushing himself off.

"Oh it's not a problem," she said smiling, "I'm guessing this Wolverine is yours?"

Meyer nodded, "Yeah it is. What were you doing in there exactly?" he asked.

"Oh I was just adding in a small com-network to your Wolverine when I noticed it didn't have one. It'll allow you to communicate from farther distances than the standard equipped network," she said, "Also; I'm guessing Granger has you going on some mission, since he had sent a request for installation of it on a Wolverine unit that was in the hangar." The realization that Meyer was to bring at best fifteen of his own men; two of which were his best friends to their deaths, hit him like a bitterly cold wind.

"Yeah. We're being sent on a suicide mission pretty much," he said somberly, "he's telling me to intercept a Nod force of over four thousand strong moving in on our Blue Zone base in Trenton, and I don't even have twenty units that could even be close to combat ready let alone strong enough to take on that force. All of the units and weaponry are in for maintenance and upgrades and the General thinks that I have troops all ready to go at a moments notice. Oh I meant to ask for your name."

"Well, that sounds like it's going to suck big time," she said, "Oh and the name is Tracy."

"Lt. Timothy Meyer, Steel Talons battalion Yellow Zone E-6," he said, "Thanks for the com-array, I'll test it out soon….I'm sure of it." Tracy nodded and saluted him before walking to the nearby doorway to the lounge. Meyer watched her walk and couldn't look away and he swore she glanced back and saw him staring, but she either didn't mind or didn't notice him. He proceeded to get into his Wolverine and saw a video screen where his old one was, that glowed a subtle blue when he powered up the systems. Then he heard an unfamiliar female voice speaking to him.

'_Steel Talon unit Wolverine EVA online……' _'What!?' Meyer thought.

'_Please enter identification number……' "_Uh…..ok?" he said confused and punched in his ID number issued to all GDI soldiers.

'_Welcome Lieutenant Meyer, all systems are green, present orders have been uploaded and objective markers have been placed on your radar map'_ said the voice emanating from his video screen apparently.

Meyer looked for this radar map the EVA spoke of until he realized that the video screen was a touch screen since there was a multitude of buttons being shown on the screen, and one of them was marked 'MAP'. He touched the screen, and the buttons faded away and a map came into view.

'Nice!' he thought excitedly, and looked at the map. Sure enough there were yellow flashing lights on the map marked 1, 2, and 3. 1 was on the area marked as his base. 2 marked the GDI base he was supposed to go provide support. Lastly, 3 was the Nod force since the beacon slowly moved closer towards marker 2.

'_Sir, I am voice controlled as well' _said EVA.

"Oh! Uhm, open communications with Steel Talon base in zone E-6, and if you can…General Jack Granger too please," he said.

'_Short range communications active, opening links with requested targets'_

Meyer spoke to the window mark Talons-E-6 while he started to maneuver his Wolverine out of the hangar towards the airfield which would have the V-35 Ox Carryall waiting specifically for him.

"Whoa!" exclaimed the familiar face and voice belonging to Sgt. Lyson, "when did you get short range comms with your Wolverine?"

"Never mind that Zack, I need you and Drew to get all available units ready to move out now" Meyer said, "Granger wants us to go provide support to the Blue Zone base in E-8 that is being advanced on by at least four thousand hostiles."

"You've got to be kidding! You know we don't have many available units let alone a sufficient battalion ready to take on FOUR THOUSAND!" cried Lyson on the other end.

"I know….I know, but it is Granger's orders….." he trailed off. Meyer walked his Wolverine up the loading ramp of the V-35 Ox and braced for liftoff as the ramp closed and the engines powered up. Despite his sound-reduction padding in his helmet the engines still made a dull roar in his ears.

"I want all of our operational units to be ready to go in one hour. I'll be there in just under that time. Meyer out," he said and heard Lyson mutter something before closing the window. Meyer then brought up Granger's window.

"General, I have my forces preparing to move out, but I must ask for you to provide some support as well. I have only twenty available at best because today was maintenance and upgrades on all our units and weapons," he said.

"THE HELL LIEUTENANT!!" came the reply, "WHY?! Why are you doing maintenance on EVERYTHING!"

"Well commander, we had scheduled this last month not expecting any action," Meyer said calmly.

Granger just grumbled and said, "I'll see what I can do, but don't expect any promises."

"Thank you sir," he replied.

"Good luck Lieutenant," said Granger saluted and the com window disappeared.

'_Lieutenant Meyer, we are about to liftoff, brace yourself' _said the EVA.

The Carryall lifted off with its VTOL engines and sped off towards the E-6 base leaving a dusty cloud in its wake.


	3. II

**2: Light of the Morning**

_Nod Forward Outpost: Northern New York, Yellow Zone E-4, 1700 hours_

"Contact Shadow Captain Jeremiah Cristof, bring him to me," said Nod Outpost Commander Roberts to his wrist-comlink. Moments later the Shadow Captain decloaked himself in the Commander's meeting room.  
"Commander? You sent for me?" asked Cristof.

"Yes Captain, I have a mission for you and your Shadow Team," Roberts answered, "I need your team to plant beacons in a Steel Talons base in Yellow Zone E-6 for our new Specter artillery units so they can bombard the power and defense grids there for an easy assault by our Black Hand allies inbound off the coast. I need the beacons planted and grids offline by 2300 hours this night. The Black Hand forces strike with the rising of the sun."

"Ugh…the Black Hand, I despise their arrogance and insolence. They may have been hand-picked by the Messiah himself, but they do not risk their lives like we do for our cause," said Cristof.

"Ah hah ha, I agree with you my brother," said a new voice. The Shadow and Commander faced the doorway where the voice was coming from. Walking to them was a male Nod trooper dressed in a strange manner who saluted the other men.

"Brother Cristof, I want to introduce you to Brother Sergeant Matthias Reynauld. He is the leader of Specter division S29," Roberts said.

"A pleasure to be working with you Brother Shadow Captain Cristof," said Reynauld holding out his hand. Cristof shook Reynauld's hand and nodding.

"Likewise Brother Reynauld, now what would you have my team do Commander?" he asked.

The Commander nodded and brought up a three dimensional hologram of the targeted base and surrounding area. He zoomed in on base and highlighted the buildings to be targeted and the areas to be marked with a beacon.

"I am uploading the data to both of your wrist-comlinks. Once that finishes you are to commence the operation immediately!" ordered the Commander. The other men saluted him and left the room once the data was uploaded.

"Here, I will upload my channel to your comlink, once you have completed your half of the mission get out of that base quickly, and then notify me so we may start our bombardment," said Reynauld. Cristof nodded and saluted the Specter commander and then sent a message to his three squad mates.

Shadow Captain Cristof and his team assembled at the gate of the outpost.

"Be ready my brothers! We have been given a grand mission that can only be accomplished with our skills!" He spoke with an invigorating manner, for his fellow Shadows burst into cheers.  
"With the wind we move!" he shouted and the four Shadows lifted off into the air on their hidden glider backpacks propelled by the winds and the silent boosters in their boots activating their stealth armor. They headed towards their target in E-6.

Specter Sergeant Reynauld gave a similar speech to his battalion. Many of the soldiers cried chants of things such as 'Down with GDI!' and 'The oppressors must die!' Soon after that, the Specters were powered up, stealthed, and on the move towards their destination as well.

__

_Temple Prime: Africa, Red Zone A-25 1900 hours_

Deep inside Temple Prime's corridors, bathed in neon red lighting, two figures dressed in black leather cloaks were discussing the war. The taller one was completely shaved of his hair save for a well trimmed moustache-goatee. He spoke with passion, love, hate, intelligence, and fury all in one. This man is the Brotherhood of Nod's Messiah, their prophet, he is Kane the seemingly immortal being, for he has survived both of the previous Tiberium Wars and now has returned to wage the third war. His companion whom he speaks to was an android identifiable by the cybernetic eyes glowing red much like the lighting of the corridor. The android had jet-black synthetic fibers to give it some form of hair. The android was also covered completely in synthetic rubber representing skin, excluding the large laser cannon that was its right arm. The android was dressed in the same manner as Kane though it walked awkwardly in the tight, form fitting material.

"How goes the war my child? I trust that it goes well under your command?" said Kane happily.

"Master, all is going as planned, but I am only an extension of your will, my command is just your will," replied the android.

Kane chuckled. "No my child, you are the future of the Brotherhood. I am only to serve as guidance for our brothers and sisters to the path of salvation, but once we have reached that point…you must lead them on," he said.

"I do not understand Master, what do you mean by this?" asked the android.

"In due time my child, in due time it shall be revealed to you," he replied with a smirk.

"I have a new mission for you my son," Kane said, "As we speak I have sent a diversionary force to draw away any nearby GDI infidels in E-6, and there is a special task force that is going to neutralize the Steel Talons base in that zone. The base will then be secured by a large Black Hand assault force that shall be landing soon after by sea and air. I want you, my son, to enter that base and acquire as much intel as you can so that we may better prepare ourselves against those Steel Talons…relics from the past."

"As you wish Master, I go," the android said as he knelt before Kane. Kane reached down and placed his hand on the android's shoulder.

"Rise my son; you need not bow to me no longer for you are the future, you are the perfect embodiment of devotion, you are LEGION!" Kane shouted with utter passion.

The android known as Legion stared at his master with confusion as his programming forbade him from doing such an action, but he also believe the request was an order and he was created to follow orders without fail. Kane could tell that his command was not going over well with his commander, and yet he dearly wanted to see Legion rise. Legion was like a son to him though he lacked a heart or any other human body part, he was filled with circuits and synapse and processors and he was cold on touch due to the fact his entire body was literally comprised of a titanium alloy designed to resist even the most powerful shells and lasers that are known by either GDI or Nod. Still, Kane persisted in urging Legion to stand and look at him as his equal, for in a sense they are. Kane created Legion by himself over many years attempting create the perfect war machine and purely devoted being. Kane poured his heart, soul, and faith into him, some of which he physically did do. Thus he had created the greatest weapon the world has ever known, and Kane is a part of him physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Legion finally managed to gain control over his leg motors and proceeded to stand. He looked into his master's eyes which glowed bright with fiery passion and joy. Kane reached out hugging his 'son' with tears beginning to flow from his eyes.

"I am so proud of you my son; I have seen a great future for you. Upon your return, I will have a new mission ready for you that I think you will thoroughly enjoy," Kane whispered into Legion's 'ear'.

"By your command master, I exist to serve the Brotherhood, but I serve you above all," replied Legion.

"Peace through Power!" Kane cried.

"Long live Kane!" Legion cried.

Legion then turned to leave Temple Prime for the air tower where a Venom chopper was waiting to take him to Yellow Zone E-6. Kane watched his child go through the large doorway to his destiny with a smile and then left the room as well to prepare for the next part of his great plan with General Kilian Qatar. Kane knew that the alien device that he had derived Legion from, The Tacitus, had provided insight that there was a great alien civilization that thrived in, on, and through Tiberium, and as such he planned on calling down to Earth, and Kane already knew how……an enormous Tiberium explosion that would reach echo through space and call down the Visitors.


	4. III

3: Welcome to the Party

**3: Welcome to the Party**

_Steel Talons Base: Yellow Zone E-6 1800 hours_

The dull roar of the V-35 Ox Carryall's engines still rang in Lt. Meyer's ears as his Wolverine's bipedal legs pounded down the ramp and into the dirt just outside of his home base. He sent a message to all active units under his command to gather at the north gate of the base and getting ready to move out. The force he had mustered out of the units that have completed their maintenance and upgrades only consisted of a Pitbull recon jeep, one Slingshot anti-air hovercraft, a Mobile Repair Transport or MRT for short, one Titan heavy walker piloted by Drew, a Behemoth heavy artillery walker piloted by his other close friend Zack, and his own Wolverine unit; not counting the twenty available infantry of two 6-man team riflemen squads and three 2-man team missile squads. Really not an impressive task force to be honest.

"Alright EVA link us up to all participating units", Meyer ordered to his co-pilot computer.

'_Links active opening communication network'_ responded the EVA.

"Alright guys….unfortunately the HIC has ordered us to go help out their Blue Zone E-4 which is going to be attacked by a force of at least four thousand Nod hostiles," Meyer said to his fellow Talon members that were assembling around his Wolverine. Mixed grumbles, groans, and curses were the reply.

"Tim…look at us", came Zack's voice, "We definitely aren't ready to be mobilized…let alone take on four thousand hostiles at the minimum."

"Zack is right Tim, we barely had time to get our crap up to running functions. Hell if I know if we are even combat ready!" cried Cpl. Drew Smith through the comlink.

"Believe me guys, if I had a say in the matter we'd all be sitting down finishing up maintenance and going to bed early, but sad to say I don't. Now stop your bitching and get ready to move out!" Meyer shouted back, "Alright I want the infantry to load up in Sgt. Lyson's Behemoth and the MRT. Make sure the drones are operational first and keep them that way! It may just give us an advantage over that Nod trash. I want full radar scans by both the Pitbull and Slingshot constantly cause we don't know what we are up against though it's pretty damn big."

"Sir yes Sir!" the entire platoon responded.

Sgt. Lyson's Behemoth is essentially a GDI Juggernaut unit without the enormously long range targeting capability that the Juggernaut has. Instead it has an infantry garrison on the back which helps defend the towering Behemoth, a fitting name. Cpl. Smith's Titan walker stood almost as tall as the Behemoth, four stories tall, but it was outfitted with a single side-mounted rail gun cannon, whilst the Behemoth had a trio of high-velocity artillery cannons, but both of which are the heaviest armored units in the platoon that was assembling under Lt. Meyer's command. The MRT came next in the armor department, but it lacked any weapon of its own like the GDI APC unit, but instead had a couple repair drones that were stored inside, or hovered around the MRT when active. The Pitbull and Slingshot were equally light armored, and almost equally as fast, though the Slingshot had more versatility than the Pitbull, being that the Slingshot was a hovercraft, but it had less traction, which the Pitbull topped in maneuverability. Both of the units had special radar scanners used to detect stealthed Nod hostiles, but also this is where the Pitbull excelled.

Meyer had walked his Wolverine to the north entrance to the base. The Wolverine is a small bipedal walker with dual mounted gatling-guns that were equipped with armor piercing rounds. Wolverines were built as the general Steel Talon anti infantry vehicle, but the AP rounds gave it a little more power against Nod vehicles. Soon after, the rest of the platoon gathered behind his Wolverine.

"Everyone ready?" asked Meyer.

"Hooorah!" shouted his comrades.

"Good. Let's move out!" he shouted.

The mediocre Steel Talons battalion set off towards their destination, while eight stealthed soldiers were gliding right over them.

_Steel Talons Base: Yellow Zone E-6 1850 hours_

"Sir what do we do about those few units moving out?" asked one of Cristof's fellow Shadows in mid-flight with him.

"Nothing my brother. We are to carry out the mission for the glory of the Brotherhood," he responded.

The other Shadow nodded and then the eight proceeded to descend into the Steel Talons base undetected to carry out their sabotage mission. They broke into two teams of four, one led by Cristof, the other led by the Shadow who queried about the few vehicles that were leaving the base.

"Bravo team, set beacons on top of the hangar, near the power plants, and the refineries. I will take Alpha and take out the Command Post." Cristof said into his headset. Bravo team dashed ahead and melted into nothingness as they disappeared into the shadows.

Cristof grinned inside of his mask as he thought at how fitting the name was for the Shadows.

"Quietly my brothers, we must be swift, we must be stealthy, and we must be lethal!" he said as he motioned for Alpha team to follow him into the base towards the Command Post.

_GDI Blue Zone E-5: Just outside of Trenton, NJ base 1920 hours_

"Status report," Meyer said into the comlink with his units as they trudged on towards the impending skirmish.

'_All readings show optimum function on all units'_ came the voice of Meyer's EVA.

"Ok. I want a radar scan of our immediate area. Zack, I want you and Drew on that ridge to provide long-range support. Everyone else were gonna' keep on moving past that ridge and find out what we're up against, via hit and run recon", he said into the comlink.

"Affirmative" and "You got it" were the replies. The Titan and Behemoth broke off and started walking up the nearby ridge as the rest of the platoon continued on towards the incoming Nod forces.

"Get me a radar scan and visual of those incoming hostiles private!" Meyer hollered into his comlink directed at the Pitbull driver who then sped off to get closer. Soon after the Pitbull's departure, Meyer's video screen was lit up by numerous red blips, which dwarfed his meager force of six.

"All infantry, hole up here on top of these hills and take a defensive stance," Meyer ordered, and the MRT's loading bay opened up and the riflemen and missile squads dashed out towards the marked location, with their heavy boots leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

'_Incoming transmission…video uplink established'_ Meyer heard his EVA say as his video screen was filled with a picture of the inbound Nod forces.

"Sir, I don't see half as many of the enemies shown on our radar, though there is still a good amount of Scorpions, Raiders, Attack Bikes, and Reckoners," the Pitbull driver said over the comlink, "could be the Venom signal generators, I count four."

"Alright. Fall back private, I want you and the Slingshot to group up and then take out those Venoms from a distance, but keep a stealth signature scan going, I don't want any unpleasant surprises," Meyer replied. The Slingshot hovercraft headed towards the location Meyer had marked and waited for the Pitbull to gather together.

"In position Tim. Awaiting orders", came Sgt. Lyson's voice over the com.

"Alright Zack, I want you and Drew to bombard the armor column in eighty seconds. All units cover our Pitbull and Slingshot above all for the moment," the lieutenant said into his comlink.

"Ready to roll!" shouted the Slingshot pilot.

"Good. You know your targets, take 'em out!" Meyer exclaimed.

"Watch yourselves out there, I don't have that great of vision because of the night," Drew said to the two units.

Soon the air roared with the firing of cannons and explosions as Zack and Drew bombarded the Nod vehicles from atop the ridge. The Venoms broke off and headed towards their direction, when the Slingshots quad-180mm cannons ripped apart two of them, and the Pitbull fired two missiles. One Venom evaded by flares and rolling, but the other wasn't quite as lucky, as the missile scored a direct hit on the cockpit, causing the Venom to explode in a burst of shrapnel and fire. The Pitbull and Slingshot chased after the remaining Venom, which continued towards the ridge, but had rotated its belly mounted laser cannon and started firing away at its pursuers. Thanks to the excellent maneuverability of the vehicles, neither the Pitbull or Slingshot were hit by the Venom, who was within firing distance of the Behemoth, when four missiles shot out of the garrison on the Behemoth's back tearing into the Venom. Drew's Titan, and Zack's Behemoth kept shelling the ground forces from the ridge. Many of the vehicles had either been destroyed, flipped over, or broke away from the force because of their barrage.

"You good?" asked Meyer to his two friends.

"WOOHOO!" cried Zack in reply.

"Look commander! The number of hostile contacts has diminished with the destruction of the Venoms!" cried the Pitbull driver.

"Excellent work private, now get your asses over here and regroup!" Meyer shouted back. He then looked at his radar on his screen, and sure enough the number of flashing red blips had disappeared, but still the force was enormous.

'_Incoming contacts at ten o'clock'_ the EVA said.

'Shit, how'd they find us?' thought Meyer.

"Infantry get ready…here the COME!" Meyer hollered as he started his Wolverine towards the top of the hill. When he got to the top he saw some Raider Buggies, Attack Bikes, and quite a few Nod infantry. Meyer opened fire from his dual gatling-guns and their 120mm armor piercing rounds shredded through the two encroaching buggies.

"Missiles take out those vehicles, Riflemen suppressive fire!" he shouted over the roar of his gunfire. Missiles whizzed through the air down the hill crashing into or near the Nod vehicles, and bullets from the riflemen tore through the closest Nod militia that were too stupid to take cover and proceed with caution.

Bullets bounced off of Meyer's Wolverine as some militia got within firing range of him. He rotated his unit a little bit, and sprayed death at the attackers. The armor piercing rounds tore the infantry to shreds or splattered them through sheer velocity and power of the bullets.

"I don't think you know who you're messing with!" Meyer cried. The Pitbull and Slingshot came in from the east. The Slingshot had lowered its cannons to ground level, and started blasting its shells meant for enemy aircraft, but they worked just as well on the enemy ground units. The Pitbull fired a few missiles at nearby Attack Bikes and Raiders; destroying, or at least disorienting them.

'_Additional hostiles moving in from seven o'clock'_ EVA warned.

"Shit! How'd they get behind us!" Meyer thought loudly. He then turned his Wolverine around to face the new threats.

At the crest of the hill that Lt. Meyer was facing, he saw the shapes of numerous Nod vehicles and personnel moving in at great speed. Missiles, laser, and gunfire streamed out of the Nod troops towards the Steel Talon platoon. Though inaccurate, the fire managed to claim the lives of some of three riflemen, and one missile squad.

"Change targets! Flankers!" Meyer hollered to the allied units around him. Without another word, the Pitbull and Slingshot moved up to rally with Meyer, and they opened fire on the incoming hostiles. Some of the enemies were killed or immobilized by the return fire from the Talons; still, more Nod forces were encroaching on the Talons in defensive position. Missiles and gunfire screamed through the air to and from both factions, and explosions demolished the landscape around them.

"Commander! They just keep coming! We can't hold out forever!" a rifleman shouted over the comlink amidst the gunfire and explosions.

"Hold tight trooper, we need to hold out for as long as we can," Meyer replied.

"EVA I want a status report", Meyer said.

_'Lieutenant, we have lost eight infantry now, and we are running low on ammo'_

Meyer grumbled in response.

"Looks like you boys could use some help," came a female voice.

"Who's that? Identify yourself!" Meyer said back.

"Oh come on Timmy, you didn't think Granger was that insensitive?" replied the voice.

Meyer's ears started ringing, and then he saw large shockwaves roaring down the hills from the west towards the enemies, ripping into the Nod forces. Then Lt. Meyer just realized what was happening; sonic cannon shockwaves were being fired. The infantry that did not have sound muffling helmets dropped in place from the destruction of their ear drums and brain cells. Some vehicles were immobilized by the frying of their electronics, while others were blasted away by the force of the shockwaves.

"Wait just a second," Meyer shouted over the sonic waves, "Tracy? Is that you?"

'_Incoming transmission. Sir it is from General Granger'_ EVA said.

"Put him through!" he yelled and with that, a video screen opened up in Meyer's video display.

"Well lieutenant, I hope this small group of reinforcements will be sufficient", said the General, "Matter of fact, they are under the command of a friend of yours."

"Well. I appreciate that sir, but WHO is in command of the force?" he asked.

"Oh Timmy, that's so cold, you don't even remember me?" asked the female voice.

"Wait. Tracy! That is you?" he asked in surprise.

The female voice giggled a little bit, and then a video screen opened up in the display. It showed Tracy in the same uniform from the hangar in D.C. She had a big grin plastered on her face and waved.

"Aren't you glad to see me Timmy?" she asked.

The lieutenant's jaw dropped as he saw Tracy in his video screen.

"Uh…Yeah! What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, I asked Granger if I could bring a small support force here to help you out", she said, "We've got two APCs fully loaded, and three Shatterers I am transferring to your command."

Meyer nodded and said, "Ok. All units let's make a push back."

"Sir yes sir!" came the reply from all units through his comlink.

The leftover Talons, and the five new GDI reinforcements started down into the valley that was still under barrage by Zack and Drew. They began opening fire on the leftover Nod forces, which were in complete disarray. They Nod forces put up little to no resistance to the Talon/GDI platoon. The last of the Nod forces were mopped up by the platoon. The group then rallied up on Meyer's Wolverine and the proceeded towards the base.

"Zack. Drew. Regroup", Meyer said.

"Kinda busy here!" Drew shouted back.

'_Lieutenant, I am detecting multiple contacts closing in on Seargant Lyson's position'_ EVA said.

"SHIT! All units MOVE MOVE MOVE!" Meyer cried out over the com. All of the units surrounding Meyer turned towards the ridge where the Titan and Behemoth were stationed, and they all sped off at max speed. The Pitbull and Slingshot were breaking away from the rest of the pack.

"EVA, transfer as much power to biped motors as allowed! I need to get there!" Meyer screamed.

'_Yes sir'_ replied the computerized voice.

Meyer's Wolverine started to speed up and broke away from the APCs, MRT, and the Shatterers. One Shatterer broke off as well, and caught up to him.

"You aren't going alone", said Tracy, "I'm with you one hundred and ten percent."

"Thanks. That really means a lot", replied Meyer.

Explosions and laser fire lit up the sky. Sgt. Lyson and Cpl. Smith were holding their own at the moment against an increasing amount of enemies, ranging from infantry to Scorpion tanks.

"How'd they get behind you guys? Didn't we have a stealth signature scan going?" asked Meyer.

"Disruption pods…" grumbled Zack.

"Son of a-" Meyer got cut off.

"I'm hit! I'm hit!" shouted the Slingshot pilot before his comlink went dead.

Meyer's Wolverine, and Tracy's Shatterer continued on and found the smoking wreckage of the Slingshot. Holes had been burned through the cockpit, and the chassis of the unit. Meyer brought up a picture of the cockpit. All he saw was the lower half of the pilot's body…the upper half had been completely vaporized by a Nod laser cannon. Meyer heard Tracy gasp as she saw the corpse. Soon after, they reached the base of the ridge, and saw the Pitbull darting around the area, firing missiles at random hostiles. Meyer opened fire on some nearby infantry, while Tracy sent a sonic wave through a group of Scorpion tanks.

"Welcome to the party!" Zack hollered sarcastically as he fired a volley down the hill scoring direct hits on two tanks, and sending at least four infantry airborne. Drew chuckled as his Titan's rail gun obliterated some infantry and three Raiders that were in a line.

Meyer continued trudging up the ridge tearing apart enemies. A Scorpion tank turned to face his Wolverine when a sonic blast sent it off the ridge, where it exploded when it hit the ground.

"Thanks", Meyer said to Tracy who winked at him in the video screen. Drew and Zack started to chuckle as they saw what was going on between the girl and their friend. The rest of the platoon had reached the ridge and were already engaging the enemy at the base of the ridge, as Meyer and Tracy worked their way up to their allies.

Meyer started firing on some Attack Bikes when a blood red super-heated laser seared through air. The laser hit Meyer's Wolverine, disintegrating his left gun. Meyer howled in rage and poured a stream of bullets into the offending Scorpion tank that destroyed his left arm. Within seconds, the Scorpion Meyer targeted, was looking like a hunk of steel swiss cheese.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU NOD FERS!" Meyer hollered and started firing at any target that got within his sights. He kept trying to shoot even after EVA had notified him that his ammo was empty. Zack, Drew, and Tracy started blasting away as well. After a few more minutes of intense battle, the last of the Nod forces were finished.

"TIM! TIIMM!" cried Tracy, "We got them! We won!"

"Alllriiiight!" shouted Zack and Drew in unison. Lt. Meyer forced a smile as his rage subsided.

"Everyone regroup, we are heading into base to resupply, repair, and rest", Meyer said.

A big shout of joy echoed from all the other comlinks from the rest of the platoon.

"EVA get me a status report, I want damages and casualties", Meyer ordered.

_'Lieutenant, we lost twelve of our starting infantry, and the Slingshot from our forces, and two zone troopers, five infantry, and one Shatterer from the GDI reinforcements' _replied the computer,_ 'Most of the damage to leftover vehicles is minimal except for your destroyed left arm.'_

"Thanks EVA, you deserve some rest", he said, "The same goes for the rest of you. Mission accomplished boys!"

"Tracy, I really appreciate the help. You saved our asses", Meyer said to the lady.

"Oh I'm glad to have been able to be a help. You owe me a dinner for this and the upgrade though", she replied with a giggle. Zack and Drew whistled over the com.

Meyer grinned, "Yeah. I guess you're right." The Steel Talons platoon started towards the base for a good-night's rest…..

**Hope you liked it, the Nod POV is going to show up next chapter.**


	5. IV

**4: Red Sun Rising**

_Steel Talons Base: Yellow Zone E-6 2100 hours_

Captain Cristof and his squad of three other Shadows quietly slipped into the doorway of the command post. They drew their silenced auto-pistols as they crept down the uninhabited hallway of the structure towards the data banks. Their mission was to sabotage the Steel Talons base, but Cristof always had a thing for stealing vital intel, and with two hours to go before the bombardment was to start; he simply couldn't resist.

"You two. I want the communications room secured. I am going to infiltrate and hack the data banks. Cover me." Cristof ordered his fellow Shadows. A beep in Cristof's ear signaled that the other beacons had already been placed by the other team, and that they were waiting for further orders. Cristof issued a pull back command to his other squad so he wouldn't have to worry about them later.

An engineer rounded the corner studying a clipboard where Cristof and his companion were heading down. The two Shadows froze immediately, their stealth camouflage taking its full effect. The engineer walked by unknowingly while muttering something about maintenance. Cristof and his companion crept down the hallway stealthily to where the data banks were located.

"Hold here", Cristof whispered and then slipped into the room. One technician sat at the computers running checks over the system. Cristof slipped up behind him and cocked his gun to the back of the technician's neck.

"Huh! Whoa!", the technician yelped before Cristof slapped his hand over the mouth of his hostage.

"Open your data files now. Unless you want your brains all over these walls." Cristof whispered coldly. The technician was petrified for a moment, but then quickly gave in and opened the data files.

"Good", Cristof said smugly before incapacitating the hostage with a blow to the back of his neck. Cristof then sat down and began searching through all the Steel Talons documents and files, searching for anything that could prove useful to the Brotherhood.

There were only a few files of interest to Cristof and therefore the Brotherhood. One had dossiers of the commanders of the base, and the other had some interesting technology used by the Steel Talons. A rail gun accelerator and adaptive armor. Cristof immediately downloaded the files to his wrist comlink before setting a satchel charge and slipping out of the room.

* * *

_GDI Base: Blue Zone E-5, 2200 hours_

Lt. Meyer walked out of the barracks and strolled down the path admiring the size of the moon. His battalion had made it safely to the base after the skirmish, and everyone sat down to a nice dinner while repairs were being made. Tracy had drug Meyer aside earlier that night for a bit of personal time. Drew and Zack continued to pester him about details upon his return, though Timothy continued to state nothing happened.

The lieutenant decided to check up on his 'wounded' Wolverine to see how repairs were coming along, as well as to check in with home base back in the Yellow Zone.

Upon reaching the repair bay, Lt. Meyer could already see significant progress was already made. He decided to open the cockpit and climb in, much to the dismay of the engineers and technicians standing by.

"EVA. Open up a link with Steel Talons HQ in Yellow Zone E-6." Meyer said.

'_Yes sir. Link established. Opening transmission._' EVA responded.

"How's the maintenance coming boys?" Meyer asked the technicians on the other end of the comm.

"We should be ready to go by nine thirty tomorrow sir" replied one. Meyer nodded. Suddenly there was a flash on the left side of his screen and he saw the technicians get up drawing their pistols. They were all shot before their guns could leave the holsters.

"Sir! We're under attack!" cried a dying Talon member.

"What the? F**k!" Meyer shouted, slamming his fist on the side of his screen.

Meyer then noticed a distortion in the room, which was fluidlike giving away the camouflage.

"Shadows. Should've known! Damn'it!" Meyer shouted at the screen.

One decloaked himself on the screen and saluted Meyer mockingly then crying, "Peace through power!" The link went dead. Meyer sat there fuming in his cockpit as he began to process the situation.

* * *

_Steel Talons Base: Yellow Zone E-6, 2300 hours_

Captain Cristof regrouped with his fellow Shadows in the communications room. Cristof had one of his squad mates set a satchel charge at the terminal. Cristof and his squad activated their stealth camouflage and left the command post quietly. Cristof and his squad opened their glider packs and took flight away from the base. As they began to soar, Cristof opened his wrist comlink.

"Brother Reynauld? Do you copy?" Cristof said into his comlink. There was a pause.

"Brother Captain Cristof. I'm here. I see the beacons were placed successfully", the Specter captain replied.

"Undoubtedly my brother. We Shadows succeed without fail. Are you in position?" Cristof responded.

"Yes. We await your signal Brother Cristof", replied Reynauld enthusiastically.

"We are clear. Unleash the fury of the Messiah!" cried Cristof. Reynauld began to laugh fiendishly.

As the Shadow squadrons regrouped in midair, Cristof turned his head and looked eastward as they flew. A series of brilliant yet brief flashes in the distance signified that Reynauld's Specters were firing the high velocity impact shells. Cristof glanced back catching the start of the fireworks as the shells crashed into the hangars, refineries, barracks, power structures, and everything else around them. Some of the structures were completely obliterated on impact while others began to burn and collapse.

Cristof turned his attention back to his comlink. Despite his loathing of the GDI scum, he wasted no time in savoring victory. He was always plotting ahead, awaiting his next mission. Cristof punched in Commander Roberts frequency.

"Commander. Brother Captian Cristof reporting in. Beacons and charges planted. Bombardment under way", Cristof spoke without emotion.

"Ah, good Brother Captain. I have been informed of reports of a small Steel Talons battalion having intercepted our forces in E-5. Do you know of anything?" Roberts voice replied through the comlink. Cristof paused.

"Yes Commander. As we descended into the base, we spotted a mediocre platoon leaving the base. What was it consisted of?" the Shadow captain said.

"It contained infantry, some light armor scout units, a Wolverine, Titan, and Behemoth. I had a quarter of 23rd Division assault the GDI base in E-5, but they were all wiped out", Roberts mused, "They had quite the CO in their ranks, plus GDI supplied a few reinforcements."

Cristof pondered. He was shocked how 23rd Divison, about eighty five hundred strong, about how a quarter of that division was wiped out by a tiny little skirmish force. Cristof opened the downloaded dossiers from his wrist comlink and began to transmit the data to his fellow Shadows as well as Roberts.

"Brothers. Do any of you recognize any of these people?" Cristof asked sternly.

"Commander I am transmitting some files I stole from the command post in the Steel Talons base. I hope it proves useful", Cristof then said into his comlink.

One of Cristof's squad mates spoke up, "Yes! Yes! I have seen this one! This Lieutenant Timothy Meyer, he was in communication with the technicians when I and Brother Seil secured the communications room. I mocked him, but I remember that this was definitely him."

* * *

_Nod Forward Outpost: Northern New York, Yellow Zone E-4, 2400 hours_

Commander Roberts paced up and down his war room. The hologram table that had been showing his tactical map had now switched over to the transmitted files. He placed his hands firmly on the edge of the table as he began to look over the data. He paid no mind to the tech of the Steel Talons, because it was surely outdated and surpassed by Nod's superior technology.

Roberts reached out and pulled up three dossiers pertaining to the Talon's base leaders. He noticed that they each piloted a different unit respectively; a Wolverine, a Titan, and a Behemoth. The files were of Lt. Timothy Meyer, Cpl. Drew James, and Sgt. Zack Lyson.

Meyer's dossier was filled with intel on his militaristic achievements and mission successes, and he was the apparent leader of the base. Meyer was an overall well rounded tactician with experience in most fields of warfare, but with no specific field of expertise.

Roberts then looked over the other two data files. Sgt. Lyson recieved high marks in the field tests and training for heavy weapons expert, demolitions tech, and long-range artillery tactics. The corporal, Cpl. James, graduated the academy with record breaking statistics in marksmanship, urban warfare, and covert ops.

Roberts smirked as he reviewed the files, studying each of the faces. Roberts then closed the files and set them for transfer to Temple Prime while awaiting further orders.

* * *

_ZOCOM Experimental Zone: Western Pennsylvania, Red Zone E-2, 0200 hours_

Deep in the Tiberium overridden zone of what used to be western Pennsylvania, Sergeant Alicia Coudroi yawned inside of her Zone Raider armor as she stood watch over the experimental facility that was allegedly developing something that would help rid the world of Tiberium. Alicia had loved it when she found out she had been promoted to working with ZOCOM in the Red Zones; it was serious business being in such a high density Tib-zone, but being a guard dog wasn't exactly what she was hoping for. Alicia preferred the frontlines, where she could teach the Nod scum a lesson in payback for what they did to her home, her family, and her friends.

'God. Whatever they are doing in the damned place better be worth my time', she thought angrily. The sergeant turned and looked over at her guard mate, another Raider of who she also did not know the name. The promotion was a big thing to Coudroi, but it took her away from all her familiar squad mates, thus making the transfer a bit more difficult than she had figured.

"Damn! Is it too much to ask for a little action or something? Damn!" Alicia started to mouth off while flailing her SC-210 sonic rifle around. The other guard turned towards her and watched a moment before looking back out over the Tiberium infested wasteland, shaking his head inside his Zone Raider armor.

* * *

_Somewhere over the Atlantic, 0340 hours_

The roar of the AT Carryall had long since become a dull drone in the ears of Brother Kareen Jeudai. He along with around three hundred other Nod militia were crammed inside the bay of the transport, along with twenty Reckoner APCs, fifteen Raider Buggies, ten Scorpion Tanks, and ten Attack Bikes. There were twenty of the Black Hand serving as COs for each platoon. Kareen checked the magazines for his MBR-Mk. II assault rifle and the grenades and Tiberium injections stored in many of the militant's packs.

'Everything seems in order', he said in his mind, 'I wonder how much longer it will be?'

As if reading his mind, a Black Hand spoke over the intercom, his voice mechanical, cold, and inhumane, "Brothers, we make landfall in three minutes. Ready yourselves. This day shall mark the beginning of the end for our foes!" Many of the militants cheered with the traditional battle cries that Nod was trademark for in all their conflicts with GDI. Brother Kareen added his voice to the cries of Kane's elite.

The Prophet's enchanting voice reverberated throughout each of the aerial transports as well as the escort units providing even more zealotry and empowerment to the Nod troops.

"My children, today shall be your finest hours! For today, we shall crush those who oppose us in our ascendancy!" Kane's voice echoed. The troops cheered ecstatically.

"We shall destroy the infidelity that has plagued this world for far too long! We are the vanguard" More cheers.

"We are the chosen!" Louder cheers.

"We are the Brotherhood!" Some militants got out of their seats and began praising Kane and bowing to the floor.

All at once, as if one voice, they all cried out, "Peace! Through! Power!"

The Carryall rattled and shook as its turbine engines switched to vertical landing, as the transport began to descend. Brother Kareen unfastened himself from his harness before the transport even touched the ground, and jumped onto his designated Attack Bike. All the other troops were freeing themselves from their seats and began flowing into their designated vehicles. Kareen revved his bikes engine. The bay's hatch hissed and slowly began to open.

"Brothers. We ride to the Steel Talons base in this Zone, and we shall finish off whatever that remains. Overrun these infidels!" a Confessor cried out over the roars of the vehicles, and cheers of the militia.

Brother Kareen disengaged the locks on his bike, and before the ramp was more than halfway down, Kareen gunned the engine. The Attack Bike surged forward and up the ramp. Several other bikes and buggies did the same. Kareen's bike soared in the air briefly before landing on the ground, giving Kareen a severe jolt. Kareen skidded his bike through the dirt as he turned towards the objective marker that had been placed on his HUD inside his helmet.

The Attack Bikes and some of the Raiders that pracitcally ejected from the baysl; bolted past the Carryall's that were unloading or still landing. Kareen signaled for three other bikes and two buggies to form up on him and they would become the spearhead the assault. The squad sped over the wasteland leaving a dust cloud in their wake.


End file.
